News in brief

Published Tue 13 Oct 2015

Issue No. 2475

Ovens’ closure kills jobs hope

The coke ovens and blast furnace at Redcar steel works are to be closed—meaning the plant will probably never reopen. They had been kept running while administrators of bankrupt owners SSI looked for a new buyer.

The plant’s closure could mean up to 9,000 job losses.

Black people tasered more

Black people are three times more likely to be tasered by police, the Home Office has admitted.

Black people were the victims in 12 percent of taser incidents in England and Wales in the last five years. Only 4 percent of the population is black.

Royal Mail now fully privatised

The Tories sold off the last remaining public stake in the Royal Mail this week.

The bulk of Royal Mail was privatised for £3.3 billion in 2013. One investment firm made £8 million profit selling newly bought shares in the first week of trading.

Rotherham cop pleads guilty

A police officer in Rotherham has admitted misconduct in a public office after using his position to inappropriately contact vulnerable women.

Lee Lucas also pled guilty to making indecent images of children. Around 1,400 indecent images of children were found on his computer.